Santa Claus is coming to town, but he’ll be coming from a different direction this year. On Nov. 17, the 115th annual Toronto Santa Claus parade will be starting in the east end of the city at Bloor and Parliament streets. The parade will head west on Bloor Street before turning south on University Avenue. In previous years, the parade started at Christie and Bloor streets and travelled east. "That area is under construction now and just wouldn’t work for us to host all the thousands of families who line up on the side of the street," CEO Peter Beresford told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. "So we’re going the other way from University." The parade will then head east on Wellington Street before heading south on Yonge Street and then east on Front Street. It will end at St. Lawrence Market. The Toronto Santa Claus Parade was first started by Canadian department store Eaton, and Santa made his first appearance in 1905. It has been a not-for-profit charity since 1982. The 2019 parade will kick off at 12:30 p.m. You can watch the parade on Nov. 17 at 4:30 p.m. on CTV. Road closures Between 6 a.m. and around 3:30 p.m. there will be rolling road closures in effect on the following streets. Toronto Police will be towing any vehicles parked along the route as of 6 a.m.
